Gainsborough's Hon. Frances Duncombe

Innumerable pearls
line the blue satin dress of the Honourable Frances Duncombe, who wears a
bright red jewel on her chest, possibly a ruby or garnet. Frances was raised by
her stepmother in the house of the Earl of Radnor and was betrothed to the
earl’s eldest son; however, her engagement was broken off when the family
discovered her affair with a John Bowater, whom she married in 1778. Exactly
when and why this monumental portrait was commissioned from Gainsborough is
unknown. After spending some years living in Germany (rumoured to have had an
affair with Archduke Maximilian Franz, brother of the French queen, Marie
Antoinette), Frances returned to England and lived with this portrait in her
family home, Old Dalby Hall, in Leicestershire, until her death, in 1827.

Mizrahi’s creative
contribution adds greatly to this book about this iconic painting of a
fashionable lady; he mentions the moment of first catching a glimpse of the
work when entering the conservation room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “I gasp”.
“Frances Duncombe looks every bit as gorgeous unframed, if not even more
so for the vulnerability.”

Author Biography

Isaac
Mizrahi has worked
extensively in the entertainment industry as an actor, host, writer, designer
and producer for more than 30 years.

Aimee Ng is chief curator, The Frick Collection,
New York.